Dubas Stays Put

Kyle Dubas is staying with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After reportedly speaking with the Avalanche, Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman says the window has passed, and the Maple Leafs might have revoked permission at some point in time.

The Avalanche clearly need some help and Dubas is a young assistant general manager who has helped Toronto return to relevancy, but it seems like Toronto got cold feet and didn’t quite want Dubas leaving. Some speculate (paywall) there’s more going on behind the scenes, but at this point in time the Leafs felt like they didn’t want Dubas going on to be a general manger elsewhere, which still leaves Dubas succeeding Lou Lamoriello on the table.

Dubas’ situation in Toronto seems strange, but Dubas is bound to be an NHL general manager somewhere soon, whether that’ll be in Toronto remains a story to follow.

Scott calls out PK

“I don’t like him. I think on the ice, he’s a piece of garbage.” NHL All-Star John Scott on P.K. Subban, via ESPN E:60

All of the goodwill John Scott might have received from his unlikely All-Star appearance could be fading quickly. The now retired enforcer takes a shot at Subban, saying he thinks he’s better than everyone else. Scott might not be wrong in that case. P.K. isn’t exactly shy about his confidence, and he’s won an award for being the best at his position.

Either way, it’s an odd comment from a player with 11 career points and multiple suspensions.

TJ in DC?

Sportsnet’s John Shannon says a new deal between TJ Oshie and the Capitals is ‘all but done’ https://t.co/cgOzDGd31B

T. J. Oshie might be staying in Washington. Sportsnet’s John Shannon talked about the winger’s future while making an talking on the NHL Network Radio’s “Two Man Advantage” show, saying a deal was all but done.

Oshie enjoyed a career high in goals playing alongside Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin, but was expected to get a mega deal in unrestricted free agency. The Capitals have Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and Nate Schmidt as restricted free agents that need re-signing. Justin Williams, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Karl Alzner are UFAs like Oshie, but they’d have a difficult time signing them all under the salary cap.

It’s possible Oshie took less to stay in a favourable situation, but the Capitals will have plenty more work to do even with him signed.

Edler uses NTC, it’s super effective!

Alex Edler says he wants to stay in Vancouver in an interview on TSN 1040. He yields a no-trade clause, so he cannot be shipped off for draft picks or prospects without his consent.

The Canucks just recently started to use the word rebuild, but who are they going to sell off? The Sedins have stated numerous times they don’t want to play for another team, so they’re not going anywhere. Brandon Sutter and Loui Eriksson aren’t going to garner much other than similar problem contracts. That leaves Alex Edler and Chris Tanev. Neither will likely be much help when the Canucks are back to being competitive compared to the assets they could receive for them. Edler controls his destiny, but it doesn’t even sound like Jim Benning wants to move either player.

Maybe the Canucks will rebuild strictly through shrewd drafting and some smart free agent signings, but selling off older, veteran talent can return some nice rebuilding pieces. Trading Martin Erat got Nashville Fillip Forsberg. Phil Kessel might get his second Stanley Cup soon, but Toronto got Kasperi Kapanen for him and then used the draft picks from the Kessel trade to acquire Frederik Andersen. The Ducks received Jakob Silfverberg and drafted Nick Ritchie with the first round pick they got from Ottawa in the Bobby Ryan trade.

Defensemen are always in high demand. An Alex Edler or Chris Tanev trade could help accelerate a rebuild that doesn’t exactly have the young elite talent other rebuilding teams started with. It’s not entirely the Canucks fault, either. They finished second last this season and third last the season before, but will draft fifth overall both times. That’s still a nice spot, but far from the talent at the very top of the draft. Not trading either Edler or Tanev could be a huge opportunity missed for Vancouver.

I think it was JPat who suggested that Edler holds all the cards similar to a Burrows type situation. First he will decide where he wants to go – probably to a warmer climate, then a NTC and a three year extension. Finally does he want to be a second line D-man behind Hedman or does he still want to be the go to guy in, maybe Carolina or Dallas. The point is it will all be settled before the trade is made.

An interesting comment from Carol. There is a frenzy of activity coming;

A reminder—the expansion draft will take place on the same night as the NHL Awards this year—June 21. Teams will be required to submit their protected lists on June 17, the lists will be released to teams and the public the next day, then the Golden Knights will submit their choices on June 20th for announcement at the event the following night.

If the Stanley Cup Final goes seven games, the last game would be played on June 14. Once the trophy is awarded, I expect we’ll see all hell break loose in terms of player movement around the league.